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The Exultant Ark: The Secret Emotional Lives of Animals

What dolphins at play have to do the mating rituals of butterflies and our capacity for kindness.

By Maria Popova

Hundreds of books are published, research studies conducted and lectures given on human psychology and emotion every year, yet the question of animal emotion remains a hotpoint of scientific debate and contention. But why should our inability to measure these phenomena mean that they don’t exist at all? That’s exactly what scientist and animal advocate Jonathan Balcombe explores in The Exultant Ark: A Pictorial Tour of Animal Pleasure — an absolutely remarkable and fascinating journey into the rich, tender and complex emotional lives of animals.

Balcombe examines a new generation of research on animal feelings, especially animal pleasure, illustrated with joyful images of the animal kingdom by some of the world’s leading wildlife photographers. The story unfolds with equal parts affectionate enthusiasm and scientific rigor, extending a gentle invitation to reexamine our relationship with living beings, reaching for more kindness, more empathy and more wholeheartedness in how we think of and treat other animals.

Nobody denies that other humans are sentient, though it’s no more possible to prove another human being is sentient than it is to prove an animal’s sentience. We don’t accept such solipsism. It would be far-fetched. So let’s stop drawing this line between humans and all other animals.” ~ Jonathan Balcombe

Elk‘A young bull elk engages in an act of playful curiosity commonly performed by young children — sticking out a tongue to catch snowflakes.’Image by Mark Peters via WiredBarbary MacaqueSays Balcombe: ‘Some macaques show an intense fascination with water — its appearance, its movements, and its feel … The attention of this Barbary macaque was held completely for several minutes as she repeatedly splashed, apparently enchanted with the feel of the water and the consequence of the action.’Image by Andrew Forsyth via WiredNorway RatsNorway rats can emit two telltale chirps, at 22 kHz and at 50 kHz. The higher-pitched chirp is emitted while wrestling, playing and having sex, and they also make the chirps when being tickled, a response akin to human laughter.Image by Brandy Saxton via WiredChimpanzeesFor chimps, mutual grooming plays a key role in communication and conflict resolution. These two, named Teresa and Sheila, live in the Chimp Haven sanctuary, a lifelong care facility for chimps abandoned as pets or rescued from medical research.Image by Amy Fultz/Chimp Haven via Wired

Pleasure is a private experience, well nigh impossible to prove, though of course scientists don’t like the word “prove.” And there are good reasons for being skeptical of making assumptions that are difficult to prove. But what I’m getting at is everyday experience: the capacity to be empathic in viewing other animals’ experiences and comparing them to our own.” ~ Jonathan Balcombe

Common Blue ButterfliesMating among common blue butterflies involves surprisingly complex displays of courtship. Although it’s commonly assumed that these rituals are unaccompanied by feelings, Balcombe gives insects ‘the benefit of the doubt,’ pointing out that it’s easier to be cruel to insects when we assume they aren’t sentient than when we suspect they might be.Image by Arthur Sevestre via WiredBeluga WhaleDolphins and beluga whales blow bubble rings and swimming through them, and tend to do this more in captivity, indicating the behavior might be a boredom-buster for them. A parallel theory is that it’s a form of play and Balcombe suspects that, whatever the answer, they find the activity stimulating.Image by Hiroya Minakuchi/Minden Pictures via WiredSwift FoxSays Balcombe: ‘I did not choose this photo because it expresses pleasure. Indeed, how are we to know what this fox is feeling as he bounds across a field? I chose it because it expresses a fundamental value: freedom.’Image by Thomas D. Mangelsen via Wired

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For more than 12 years, Brain Pickings has remained free (and ad-free). It takes me hundreds of hours a month to research and compose, and thousands of dollars to sustain. Your support really matters. If you find any joy and value in what I do, please consider becoming a Sustaining Patron with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good lunch.

Monthly donation

One-time donation

Sunday newsletter

Brain Pickings has a free Sunday digest of the week's most interesting and inspiring articles across art, science, philosophy, creativity, children's books, and other strands of our search for truth, beauty, and meaning. Here's an example. Like? Claim yours:

midweek newsletter

Also: Because Brain Pickings is in its twelfth year and because I write primarily about ideas of a timeless character, I have decided to plunge into my vast archive every Wednesday and choose from the thousands of essays one worth resurfacing and resavoring. Subscribe to this free midweek pick-me-up for heart, mind, and spirit below — it is separate from the standard Sunday digest of new pieces:

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